The Nunhead Art Trail is a free event taking place on the 28th & 29th of September 2019 in Nunhead, South East, London. This is one of the best free events in London this weekend!

Have you done the Nunhead Art Trail? Something we proudly ask people visiting SE15 - because it really is one of our favourite events in South East London and we are so lucky it happens right here on our doorstep (literally).

The Nunhead Art Trail is an annual weekend festival showcasing the talent of local artists and craftspeople in the Nunhead community. Over the weekend artists and creatives will open up their homes and studios to the public to showcase their work. We chat to Caroline Wright, a painter and one of the event organisers who has lived in both Peckham and Nunhead since 1985 to find out how it all began and which artist we need to visit this year.

So, how did the Nunhead Art Trail actually start?

A small group of us (artists) started Nunhead Art Trail in 2012 when we identified that there were many artists living in the area who might be interested in joining us for a local version of artist open studios. We thought Nunhead had a particularly unique identity that deserved its own London art trail! We successfully applied to the Mayor's Fund and Southwark council for 2-year funding in order to set ourselves up, employ a designer and create a social media presence. From then on, the Nunhead Art Trail has become a popular annual event, with now loads of local artists taking part as well as a lot of people coming down from all parts of London to do the art trail. It’s a fantastic day out.

How many artists get involved and showcase their work each year?

The number of artists participating has steadily increased each year - we now have around 110 artists taking part this year, including ‘featured artists and performers’.

For those new to the Art Trail, what can they expect?

Nunhead Art Trail is a celebration of all sorts of artwork, including painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, performance, poetry and music. Visitors are not only invited into artists homes and studios but also other venues which are not normally open to the public - for example, this year the Stuart Road Allotment Hut will be displaying artwork as well as the Aquarius Golf Club (a bit of a hidden gem) will host a group of artists who have created work around the theme of One Tree Hill in Peckham - a vantage point for some of the best views of central London.

Is there any particular artist we should be looking out for this year?

There are lots of free performances this year including poetry from Rye Poets and free workshops at The Old Nuns Head pub. One not to be missed is dance group ella&co who will be performing for the third year running as part of The Nunhead Art Trail at beautiful The Nunhead Cemetery. This year they will be collaborating with Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network.

Any tips on how people should plan their route around the trail?

Use the map in the brochure (which you can pick up from lots of venues locally) or use our one here to plot your route. There are also lots of great places around Nunhead Green to stop and grab a bite to eat or a drink. Whichever way you choose to do the trail, you will most definitely meet lots of friendly and talented people along the way. The Art Trail may even end up taking you to parts of Nunhead even locals may not be aware of!